Editorial January 5, 1957 Issue

"FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH"

Helen Wood Bauman

When individuals understand strength in its spiritual meaning, they are able to renew their vigor constantly. They do not succumb to exhaustion, to apathy regarding spiritual things, or to the mental and physical deterioration which plagues the race. The Psalmist saw God as the source of strength, and he said (Ps. 84:5, 7): "Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.... They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God."

We can all "go from strength to strength"; and we do this when we realize that the strength which God gives to man, His spiritual likeness, is the power to be good. This strength the Father imparts directly to consciousness, and it becomes individualized as spontaneous love and purity, truthfulness and justice, which are incapable of any lessening of vitality. The real man knows no deterioration of powers because he knows no departure from real consciousness, which embodies true vigor. But the human being must constantly renew his strength by demonstrating his real selfhood. He brings this selfhood out by reflecting the attributes of God, always knowing that his ability to live and act is not dependent upon flesh or any form of matter, but upon the fact of his unity with God.

Mary Baker Eddy was an example of constantly renewed vitality. She found her strength in unselfed love for the race. She dedicated her life to giving, and herein lay her success. She says in "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany" (p. 160): "The heart that beats mostly for self is seldom alight with love. To live so as to keep human consciousness in constant relation with the divine, the spiritual, and the eternal, is to individualize infinite power; and this is Christian Science."

Enjoy 1 free Sentinel article or audio program each month, including content from 1898 to today.

Send a comment to the editors
NEXT IN THIS ISSUE
Article
Contributions
January 5, 1957
Contents

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit